It is postulated that the resolution of the problem of ethnic disparities in the burden of cardiovascular diseases will require a concerted, multi-disciplinary approach that includes investigators and practitioners dedicated to serving ethnic populations within their communities. This proposal seeks to establish a community-oriented Cardiovascular Disease Preventive Intervention Research Program (CPIP) at the Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM). This program is an essential step towards establishing a comprehensive research center of excellence in cardiovascular science that achieves the inter-disciplinary integration of basic science, clinical investigation and population-based research that is necessary to redress the problem of ethnic disparities in cardiovascular health. The long-term scientific objectives of the proposed program are two-fold: 1) to discover the etiologic basis for ethnic and geographic disparities in cardiovascular disease in the United States and 2) to pursue research that generates innovative, community-based preventive intervention programs that will reduce or eliminate these disparities. A complementary educational objective of the CPIP is to nurture the development of the next generation of cardiovascular investigators with a particular emphasis on expanding the ethnic and gender diversity of the research community. The primary objective of Phase I is to recruit a Program Director of the CPIP with a track record of scientific excellence in population-based cardiovascular science. The specific aims of Phase I are: To establish the administrative and search committee structure necessary to implement an effective recruitment plan for the CPIP Program Director. To establish an External Advisory Board composed of scientific leaders in cardiovascular research that will provide consultative input on the programmatic development of the CPIP and identification of the CPIP Program Director. To enhance a novel integrative approach to cardiovascular disease-related research by facilitating institution-wide, multi-disciplinary research collaborations within the MSM community as well as our regional partners.